Murchison Place Park Clean-Up 2017 (Our 500th Post!)

(Submitted by Emily Bryant) A sunny day, willing volunteers, a park that had wintered well, and a supportive community spirit were the key ingredients for a wonderful clean-up event at Murchison Place Park on May 13th. JoAnn MacPhail did a great promotion reminding community members of the need. I, Emily Bryant, counted 35 volunteers that worked well together to get Murchison Place Park park in tip-top shape for the summer season.

The Ross family, again, would take the prize of having the most members of a family present as Kevin, Lisa, Erica, Emily and Ellen all pitched in to help. Jeff and Maggie Cameron and their two sweet little girls had four members there and the ever faithful Alan MacQuarrie was there with his two sons, Ben and J.R. Some couples find this a nice activity they can do together. For example, Angela and Brent worked hard and were able to obtain leaves to compost for their environmentally conscious garden.

Many of the helpers at the 2017 clean-up have been there every year since this park opened over a decade ago. Alex Dixon, who has been such a huge help from day one, was presented a birthday cake at this clean-up and, even though he doesn’t like being in the limelight, I could tell he was pleased. Audrey MacPhee, who always brings good cheer, might have had the honour of being the oldest helper at this clean-up, but Eric MacPhail, whose life long work habits are legendary, came from Burnside Community Care with his shovel in hand. It was nice to see Fred Beer back in Clyde River to participate in this year’s park clean-up, a park that has his father Arnold’s name attached to the front flowerbed. Rev. Steven Stead and Christine Young must have been pleased to be there and see the transformation of the park, as their homes border on this park setting. Of course, Sarah Cameron’s smile brought joy to the event.

The pictures will show that volunteers took time to chat with each other. Lisa Ross had suggested that everyone introduce themselves during our refreshment break and that proved to be a great idea as a community builder. Special thanks to all who brought or sent biscuits, muffins, cookies, etc., and to the Rosses who brought coffee and JoAnn who provided juice. Three hours is a short time but the work was pretty much all completed in that time. What a nice feeling to be part of this worthwhile community project.